Shortly after performing a set at SXSW, Childish Gambinovisited the Complex House at the festival to answer some questions about what he’s currently working on and his love/hate relationship with WorldStarHipHop.
Asked about the subject of his recent freestyle, Childish Gambino didn’t reveal who he was talking about, but admitted to directing bars at other rappers and feeling like many in the industry need thicker skin. “I’m not gonna lie, sometimes I do be going at people specifically,” he said. “The thing about it is, I think it’s kind of wack that rappers can’t take being talked about. I think that’s just so stupid, we’re grown men, so people don’t like you, who cares? That’s the point. If everybody like you, you’d be like the Clay Aiken of Rap. That’s the thing, I was like, ‘Oh, too many people liking Macklemore.’ See now, now the hate comes…Who cares if you still get to work?”
Speaking on his recent Complex cover story, Childish Gambino described wanting to try new things with his music. “I just wanna push things forward, I feel like if you’re not moving forward as an artist you’re kind of wasting your time here,” he said. “I was like, ‘I didn’t want to do that,’ which is why I like I left Community, at least for a little and wanted to do other things. Things should be, for lack of a better term, edgy. Everything, we should push boundaries, that’s the point.”
During the interview the rapper/actor/comedian also revealed that he’s already begun work on his next album. “Working on a really big project, I’m really excited about, I can’t say what that is yet but we just started working on that,” he said. “And the next album, I’ve already made a couple songs for the next album. I just want push boundaries do things that nobody’s done before and I think this album might do that.”
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Responding to Complex’s question about his feelings on WorldStarHipHop, a topic he broached on hisbecause the internet album, Gambino described being desensitized to the content. “I love that you can talk to a kid, and he’s like watching a fight comp., and then he’s also like, ‘Did you hear about Russia? Did you hear about Ukraine?’” he said. “‘Cause they put that stuff up, most of those videos are from—most of them are like out there because they’re the most ratchet. I feel like Russia’s the most ratchet. It’s more turnt than anyone, everytime I meet a Russian girl it’s like she’s from Atlanta, or something, she’s like ratchet, like for real.
“The hate part, honestly it has more to do with human beings in general,” he added. “It’s just like, I’m gonna get used to seeing someone die. I’m so used to it now. Like those fight comps, I know those dudes don’t make it, like half of those dudes. Like I saw a dude get stomped out in the face, I’m like, ‘That dude did not live.’ So now, I’m just fine, it still freaks me out but not. Yeah, I mean it sucks, but that’s what happens, you always look for the next thing. There will be something worse than Worldstar.”
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